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Friday, April 5, 2013

Eärendil, Star of the Sky

It is difficult to summarize who Eärendil is, since he plays such a long role spanning many of Tolkien's works. He is one of the most legendary figures in the world of Middle-Earth, and is mentioned often by many of the characters in The Lord of the Rings.

A sea-loving man from the kingdom of Gondolin, Eärendil sailed the western oceans of Middle-Earth in a beautiful ship. His wife was Elwing, granddaughter of Beren and Luthien, and she kept in her possession one of the three Silmaril gems. When the sons of Fëanor learned of this, they attacked the city of Arvernien were Elwing lived. She fled Arvernien (with the Silmaril still in her possession) and fled from Middle-Earth to Valinor with her husband. Eärendil gave the Silmaril to the Valar. With the help of the Valar, he then raised an army of elves and men to forever vanquish the evil Morgoth from the world. As a reward for his selfless actions and also because he and his wife were descended from a lineage of both elves and men, the Vala Manwë gave him and his wife the choice to either become one of the elves, or to remain mortal if they desired. Eärendil's wife, Elwing, chose to be an elf, prompting Eärendil to chose the same. This gift of choice to be mortal or immortal was passed on to their sons, Elrond and Elros, as well as their granchildren, who became known as the Half-Elven. As for what happened to the Silmaril gem, the Valar set it in the sky, where is appeared as a brilliantly bright star. This star is treasured by the elves of Middle-Earth, who keep it as a reminder of the greatness of Eärendil. In The Lord of the Rings, Lady Galadriel gives to Frodo a "star-glass" which contained some of the light of the star - a gift that becomes a vital instrument in his quest to destroy the Ring.

For a brief time, Eärendil wore the Silmaril as a crown gem to guide him and his wife safely across the sea to Valinor.

Every good story needs a heroic figure for the protagonists to admire and emulate - Tolkien definitely understood this when he created the mighty Eärendil. Recreating him in Lotro was no small task, given the amount of detail conveyed about his appearance in Tolkien's writings, but I believe I did a fair job. The new mannequins on display ingame once again have a mixture of cosmetic pieces that I have to intention of raiding or pvp-ing for, so I went ahead and got a couple. The pieces from the Armour of the Lady's Secrecy are ridiculously stunning and are very fun to play around and experiment with. Thrown together with some older crafted pieces, they create a regal and majestic outfit. Sadly, I could not find a headpiece in Lotro that shines with the light of a Silmaril, so I cheated used the magical powers of Photoshop.

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Enjoy the Outfit!

Head: Circlet of Men, cannot be dyed or glow like a Silmaril (Anniversary Gift-Box)